Fika Coffee Roasters LLC is nearing completion of its new 2,500-square-foot roastery in the Grand Marais Business Park. It has announced a fundraising campaign, to raise $150,000 to help furnish, outfit, and equip the new building.
Fika’s owner, Josh Lindstrom, is a community-focused business leader. With solid growth at its Lutsen location, which will remain, the company needed more space for roasting, packaging, and shipping online orders. “The new building will enable Fika to grow,” Lindstrom said last year. “Our Lutsen location is constrained.”
Fika Coffee started in 2012, roasting and selling coffee from a 90-square-foot shed on Lindstrom’s mother’s property. By June 2016, it moved roasting operations and opened a coffee bar at 5327 W. Highway 61in Lutsen. In 2022, the business acquired a lot in the Cedar Grove Business Park in Grand Marais with plans for a roastery. The building connects with a studio apartment intended for employee housing.
In a recent email, Lindstrom wrote, “At Fika Roastery, community has always been at the heart of what we do.” He wrote that a so-called “Friend of Fika” donated $15,000 so Fika could acquire its first roaster. “That act of kindness is what made Fika possible,” he continued.
Lindstrom created this campaign based on that same spirit, generosity, connection, and coffee.
The building is fully paid for, so donations will be used for roasting equipment, kitchen tools, appliances, and storage area equipment. Office furniture, coffee brewing equipment, and furnishings for the housing unit will also be acquired.
“We believe in doing things together, and this campaign is our way of building something special as a collective,” Lindstrom wrote.
The GiveFika website shows that with less than two months remaining in the drive, 61 donations totaling $7,905 have been received. Donations may be made in any amount, but the website includes gifts at various levels, from $25 to $1,000. “Supporters can contribute any amount and receive unique rewards, from stickers and mugs to once-in-a-lifetime experiences like race entries and VIP fika with the staff,” Lindstrom wrote.
Although the Grand Marais location will not have “walk-in” retail space, Lindstrom said the area in the roasting space may resemble a coffee shop. It will be the roastery’s lab, and Fika’s wholesale customers will be hosted for sampling sessions. In addition, Lindstrom envisions hosting roastery tours and potential pop-up events.
While Fika used more traditional funding sources (loans, grants, equity, bootstrapping) to build its new headquarters, it joins many small businesses that are increasingly leveraging donation-based models.
Lindstrom felt he had some social capital to tap into for this donation-based model. “I want to give the opportunity for people to be involved and part of our story,” he said.
Known as crowdfunding, the donation model reflects a more creative and community-driven approach to financing. It is particularly popular for businesses like Fika that have a strong community focus or a compelling story.
The Roastery is located in the Grand Marais Business Park at 30 Aspen Ct.
